Taking special care to a whimsical and jaw-dropping presentation, Roots’ desserts will end your night on a high note.
This little date spot is tucked away from the hubbub of central George Town but worth the hunt. You may be doubting your navigation skills as you walk past city homes, complete with laundry drying on their porches while trying to find Roots Dessert Bar. To get here, follow Jalan A.S. Mansoor around the bend. Roots will be housed inside the long building on the right side, next to the Museum Hotel.
Ambience & Amenities
Roots Dessert Bar underwent a renovation recently and now sports a very cute white and red colour scheme. It’s very bright in here with lots of themed decorations strung about if there’s a cultural holiday coming up. Along the left wall is a long comfy couch with pillows in the cafe’s new colours.
It can get cramped in here during peak periods, so if you’re looking for a more private place to enjoy your food, the cafe will also let you sit in the adjoining hotel lobby. Go out the back exit on the left side and you will be in the Museum Hotel lobby next door. There are round tables spaciously set up in a semi-open air space next to a long pool, along with a couch and a hanging egg chair. There is no toilet in Roots’ dining area but presumably there is one in this lobby you can use.
Menu
If the name didn’t make it obvious enough, the focus at Roots Dessert Bar are desserts and sweet offerings. The only four savoury options on the menu are shareable snacks, not meals, like cheesy bread and nachos. Filtered water is free, but comes in small cups that will need to be refilled by the staff. The busiest times seemed to be in the mid-afternoon, but you could come here for breakfast for their Dutch pancakes… or get a tower of cream puffs for breakfast, no judgment!
Food
Just before it was brought to us, we watched a marshmallow be blowtorched on top of our Roots Hot Chocolate (RM14) and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder. The toasted marshmallow actually takes some work to get off – it’s not going to come off when you take a sip. We ended up scraping off bits with our spoon and eating it separately. The hot chocolate itself was a bit too sweet and not rich enough, sort of like hot chocolate powders you get at the supermarket.
Get your camera ready for the Pina Colada (RM17)! This dessert comes in a half coconut shell with liquid nitrogen that steams for about five minutes. I’m quite sure the ice cream is coconut milk-based instead of dairy-based as it tasted a little too “dry” to be cream-based. Underneath the ice cream is a pineapple cake that is really tasty and moist. At the very bottom of the bowl is a biscuit base for crunch. Though it looks way too pretty to do so, mix the ice cream, cake and biscuits all together so that you’re not stuck with a bunch of dry biscuits at the very end. Overall, the pineapple was the dominant flavour and this was not very coconutty at all, which is odd for a “pina colada.”
Saturday Worthy?
It’s amazing at how much care and effort Roots Desserts Bar puts into their food. The pictures on their menu, whether intentional or not, don’t make much of an impact so that when you actually receive your dessert, you’re wowed with its aesthetic. Mark came here alone when I wasn’t in the mood for dessert, then talked it up so much afterwards that we came here together the next night. With style and substance, Roots’ desserts are expertly presented while still being yummy.
Price for 2 Pax: RM31.00
Pina Colada: RM17.00
Roots Special Hot Chocolate: RM14.00
Roots Dessert Bar
Address: 72, Jalan A.S. Mansoor, George Town, 10050 Pulau Pinang
Opening Hours: Monday & Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday & Thursday: 3pm – 11pm
Friday: 3pm – 12am
Saturday: 12pm – 12am
Sunday: 12pm – 11am
Alcohol Served: No
